Which Phonics Sounds To Teach First

 

Phonics.

Just hearing the word can make you feel like you should suddenly know what you’re doing… when in reality you’re Googling “what is a digraph?” at 10pm.

Let’s be honest... for most of us (hello, millennials 👋), phonics was not how we were taught.

We were out here memorising words like:
“because = big elephants can always understand small elephants”

No blending. No segmenting. Just vibes and panic before spelling tests.

So if phonics feels a bit… confusing? You are absolutely not alone.

So what actually is phonics?

In simple terms, phonics is:

• learning the sounds letters make
• then blending those sounds together to read words

So instead of memorising whole words, children learn to decode them.

Sounds great. Makes sense. Slightly humbling when you realise you have to relearn reading alongside your child.

The big question: which sounds should you teach first?

Because let’s face it there are a lot of sounds.

And no one hands you a neat little guide saying “start here, you’ll be fine.”

So here’s the simple version (no overwhelm required).

Start with the “greatest hits”

You want to begin with the most common, easiest sounds.

Think:
s, a, t, p, i, n, m, d, g, o

Why these?

Because:

• they show up everywhere
• they’re easier to pronounce
• they help form simple words quickly

Basically, they give your child early wins and we love an early win.

Watch out for the “why are these even like this” letters

Some letters are just… unnecessarily confusing.

Looking at you:

• b and d (mirror image chaos)
• p and q (honestly, who designed this?)

These need a bit of extra attention.

Teach them slowly. Separately. With patience.

And maybe a deep breath for yourself.

Choose sounds that actually work together

This is where it gets fun.

Once your child knows a few sounds, you can start blending them into words like:

• s + a + t → sat
• p + a + t → pat

And suddenly… they’re reading.

Actual words.

You will feel like a proud genius. They will feel like a wizard. Everyone wins.

Then (and only then) level up

Once they’re confident with the basics, you can introduce the trickier stuff:

• Digraphs (two letters, one sound plot twist)
  • sh, ch, th
• Long vowel sounds
  • ee, ai, oa

These are a bit more “excuse me??” at first, but they’re essential for reading longer words.

No rush. No pressure. We build slowly.

A quick reality check (for your sanity)

Phonics can feel… a lot.

Sometimes you’ll be sitting there thinking:
“Why is this so complicated?”
“Why does ‘ph’ make an ‘f’ sound??”
“Who decided this???”

Same.

Even grown-up brains have moments with phonics. You’re not doing it wrong... it’s just a process.